Could we not form a group as farmers? I realise working together and sticking together is a typically ‘British farmer’ problem... so maybe not But if you got the right like minded individuals together...

Staff Member

Could we not form a group as farmers? I realise working together and sticking together is a typically ‘British farmer’ problem... so maybe not But if you got the right like minded individuals together...

Member

What we do is, get assessed as to what the nett carbon footprint of a kilo of such as protien is at the farm gate, whether that protien is in the form of lamb, beef, dairy, peas or Kenyan beans.
It is then down to the retailers to add on their own carbon cost of getting the product to their shelves..

Not quite farming in my own right but certainly intend to be in the future so would be very interested.... there must be scope to tap up some ag tech funding in order to aid recording and calculating carbon sequestration etc... both software and hardware

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Trouble is, the populations of some third world countries are not yet large enough for their economies to be wealthy and strong enough- they don't/can't hit the level of consumption necessary for them to reach a sort of critical mass where they can survive.

Member

On bbc news today.
Farmers responsible for 13% green house emmissions claimed.
2 sides story
NFU person said farmers can do more to reduce their carbon footprint????
Think person in amazon with a chainsaw wants talking to also???

Member

I think a carbon footprint label on every bit of food sold in the UK
Thinking a 5 point actual green footprint ranging from tiny through to massive would show the consumer easily how much carbon that particular bit of food produced
Come on NFU/Red Tractor etc. Get behind that

Member

Not quite farming in my own right but certainly intend to be in the future so would be very interested.... there must be scope to tap up some ag tech funding in order to aid recording and calculating carbon sequestration etc... both software and hardware

There are a couple of pilot projects just started in Devon aiming to profile soil carbon stores, with some big companies involved looking to offset their carbon emissions. The project is bringing the two together with the ultimate aim of paying farmers for their carbon storage/sequestration.

The problem is that there is no quick, easy way of profiling soil carbon across a farm. Every field and soil type are likely to be different and will need retesting regularly to see any change. Currently the protocol involves a lot of digging and sampling at various depths = time consuming and expensive.

It's very early days and is really just dipping the toe in to see if the principle is sound and workable, but there are some big names willing to invest. There just needs to be a machine that can measure and map SOC quickly and cheaply.

So we see in the blurb on the package back, that Co2 generated from farm to store, is quoted on the front.
Can we take that as from the beginning of the whole process of getting the oats grown and to shop shelf?
Or is it from farm store to shop shelf?

Member

So we see in the blurb on the package back, that Co2 generated from farm to store, is quoted on the front.
Can we take that as from the beginning of the whole process of getting the oats grown and to shop shelf?
Or is it from farm store to shop shelf?

Member

There are a couple of pilot projects just started in Devon aiming to profile soil carbon stores, with some big companies involved looking to offset their carbon emissions. The project is bringing the two together with the ultimate aim of paying farmers for their carbon storage/sequestration.

The problem is that there is no quick, easy way of profiling soil carbon across a farm. Every field and soil type are likely to be different and will need retesting regularly to see any change. Currently the protocol involves a lot of digging and sampling at various depths = time consuming and expensive.

It's very early days and is really just dipping the toe in to see if the principle is sound and workable, but there are some big names willing to invest. There just needs to be a machine that can measure and map SOC quickly and cheaply.

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The National Farmers Union (NFU) has set out its plans for achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rom British Agriculture by 2040 – a decade ahead of the government’s ambition for the whole UK economy. NFU president Minette Batters first announced the net zero by 2040 goal at this year’s Oxford Farming Conference in […]